Angelina Jolie was accompanied by both husband Brad Pitt and 12-year-old son Maddox when she accepted an award at the 2013 Governors Awards in Hollywood on Saturday.

“My family, my love, your love and support make everything possible,” she said. “Mad, and your brothers and sisters, there is no greater honor than being your mom.”

The youngest recipient to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Jolie’s humanitarian efforts have taken her–and often her family, too–around the world.

Jolie lost her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to ovarian cancer back in 2007, but she wasn’t far from her mind on Saturday.

“My mom loved art,” Jolie said. “She wanted for [brother James Haven] and I to have the life of an artist. She believed nothing would mean anything if you didn’t lead a life that was of use to others.”

Angelina Jolie’s father, Jon Voight, sat with Brad Pitt and Maddox at the awards ceremony. And while that was likely heartwarming for the actress (she and her dad made amends several years back after many years of estrangement) she would no doubt have loved to have her mother there to see her given this prestigious award.

Without a mom there to express her pride, friend Emma Thompson did so instead.

“It comes from a very genuine place with Angie,” Thompson told PEOPLE. “That is the important thing. She has been very good at keeping things in the headlines that would all too easily slip away.”

In addition to Thompson’s praises, the presence of Brad Pitt and son Maddox at the 2013 Governors Awards must have made Angelina Jolie realize just how blessed she is. She continues her work as a humanitarian so that those less fortunate will know the joy of blessings, too.

Image via Wikimedia